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No. 543,758. Patented JuI'y 30, 1895.

Him HUN UNITED STATE s A PATENT GFFICE.

OLIVER SWIFT, OF ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND MORGAN W. SIMMONS, OF SAME PLACE.

WIRE-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 543,758, dated July 30, 1895.

Application filed July 20, 1 8 94.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER SWIFT, of Aberdeen, in the county of Brown and State of South Dakota, have invented a new and useful Fence-Wire Clamp, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improved device for securing the strands of wire fences to erected posts.

Ordinarily looped staples are employed to secure fence-wires in position on the upright posts, these being driven into the posts until they bind on the wire strands.

In the stringing of barbed or other Wires to place them on fence-posts, it is frequently necessary to shift a wire on a post either up or down to give it a correct position with regard to the trend of the ground above which the fence-wire is stretched.

After an ordinary fence-wire staple has been been driven into a post it is inconvenient to remove and is destroyed by the act of drawing it from the post.

It is desirable in the erection of wire fences that facility be afforded to temporarily retain a fence-wire stretched until a considerable length of wire has been erected, and then loosen the wire so as to stretch the entire line from one end, finishing the operation by securing the wire at every post.

The objects of my invention areto provide a novel, simple, and inexpensive device for securing fence-wires to erected posts, which will be convenient to insert, be adapted for a speedy partial or complete withdrawal from the fence-posts, which will securely clamp fence-wires in place when adjusted to effect this object, and that will not be injured by repeated removals from the fence-posts.

To these ends, my invention consists in the provision of a screw-cut insertible body, and a swivel-clamping piece that engages said body, said parts being constructed and combined, as is hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views shown.

Figure l is a partly-sectional side View of an intermediate portion of a fence-post, a fencewire in section, and a partly-sectional side view Serial No. 518,118. (No model.

tached side View of the main portion of the clamp; and Fig. etis a side view in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 1, of the swivel clamping-piece that is a part of the improvement.

The improvement consists of two parts, the main portion having a cylindric body 10 that that is tapered toward one end and coarsely threaded to adapt it for a screwed insertion in a fence-post, as represented in Fig. 1. The opposite end of the screw-cut stem 10 is cir cumferentially enlarged to produce an inte gral collar or flange 11, from which axially projects the head 12, that is preferably made rectangular in cross-section, it having a sufficient length to permit the application of a socket-wrench or other lever appliance that will have an assured engagement with the head for the rotation of the stem.

The remaining part of the improved clamping device is preferably shaped as indicated in the drawings, comprising a metal clamping block 13, having a cylindric body which is longitudinally perforated to allow it to be slid on the cylindrical portion of .the screwcut stem 10 and have a level bearing on the base flange 11 of the head 12.

From the side of the clamping-block 13 an integral wedge-shaped keeper-toe 14 is projected, substantially in parallel with the axis of the perforation in the portion it projects from, so that a fence-wire strand 15 may lie between the toe and stem 10 when the clamping-block is in place on the stem.

To apply the improvement for the erection of a fence, a suitable number of posts 16 are erected in a line where the fence is to be located, and the wires 15 are secured to the sides of said posts, as shown in Fig. 1, the improved clamping device being utilized for this purpose.

It will be seen that the improved wire-securing device may be quickly applied at a proper point on a fence -post by first tapping the head of the stem 10 with any suitable implement to enter its sharp point and give the thread a hold in the post, the use of a wrench lever on the head of the stem, so as to rotate the latter in a proper direction, causing the screw-stem to penetrate the post and bind the clampingblock 13 on the wire 15, the keepertoe 14 being forced into the post-body at the same time, so as to lock the wire between it and the stem 10, as plainly shown in Fig. 1.

The manner of connecting the block 13 with the stem 10 allows the block to swivel or be held from rotation while the stem is being screwed into the post, and so permit the block and keeper-toe on it to be pressed toward the wire as the stem 10 is inserted, a reverse r0- tary movement of the stem serving to release the keeper-toe and wire from the post when this is desired.

Having thus it described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent In a fence wire clamp, the combination of a stem provided with a headed end, and a clamping block having a perforation through which said stem is adapted to pass, said block being also provided at one side with a toe which projects below its under side and is adapted to enter the post, said toe being separated from the perforation through which the stem passes by a space adapted to receive the fence wire, substantially as set forth.

OLIVER SWIFT. Witnesses:

SAMUEL H. JUMPER, 'M. W. SIMONDS. 

